about the company
Our client is a premier, globally recognized financial services and life insurance organization with a strong reputation for delivering market-leading wealth management solutions. As they continue to rapidly expand their international footprint and wealth hubs, they are seeking to elevate their underwriting capabilities to support complex, cross-border client needs. This is a rare opportunity to join a highly innovative, fast-paced environment and build new capabilities from the ground up.
about the job
As the Head of High-Net-Worth Underwriting, you will be instrumental in establishing and leading the global underwriting strategy, governance, and technical capabilities across the organization's wealth platform. Your core responsibilities will include:
... - Strategy & Governance: Developing and owning the global wealth underwriting strategy, philosophy, and governance framework across all wealth hubs (including Bermuda), ensuring alignment with risk appetite and regulatory expectations.
- Technical Leadership: Acting as the final technical referral point for complex High-Net-Worth (HNW) cases, encompassing jumbo cases, trusts, premium financing, and offshore ownership structures.
- Risk & Claims Management: Establishing the underwriting risk framework, overseeing quality assurance, and defining claims adjudication principles to ensure fair and consistent outcomes for HNW clients.
- Process Innovation: Partnering with Operations leadership to drive automation, digital enablement, and process streamlining for a highly differentiated customer experience.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Building trusted relationships with International Brokers, Private Banks, reinsurers, and internal stakeholders (Distribution, Product, Legal, Risk) to harmonize underwriting approaches across various jurisdictions.
about the manager/team
Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, Group Wealth, you will be a highly visible leader supported by top-tier executive management. In this capacity, you will lead and develop a dedicated team of specialist HNW underwriters operating across multiple international markets. You will be tasked with building a high-performing technical underwriting culture, coaching underwriting leaders, and fostering seamless collaboration across regional and local business units without always having direct reporting authority.
skills and experience required
- A University degree in Business, Insurance, Risk Management, or a related discipline (Professional Life Insurance qualifications such as FLMI, ACS, or equivalent are highly preferred).
- A minimum of 18 years of life insurance underwriting experience, with at least 10 years explicitly focused on High-Net-Worth or complex life insurance underwriting.
- Proven leadership experience managing specialist underwriting teams or Centres of Excellence across multiple jurisdictions and international markets.
- Deep technical expertise in HNW underwriting topics, including complex claims adjudication, trusts, premium financing, offshore ownership structures, and wealth accumulation propositions.
- Extensive experience working alongside reinsurers on facultative underwriting, underwriting philosophy, and product development.
- Strong commercial acumen with a profound understanding of private banking, international broker, and cross-border wealth business models.
- Proven track record of driving underwriting transformation, governance, and process improvement initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to influence and align stakeholders across a complex matrix organization.
To apply online please use the 'apply' function, alternatively you may contact Josh (EA: 94C3609/ R1104689)
